Plaid made the holidays extra-special this year by sending a video to clients and friends — including us — that claims we were involved in an affair with Mrs. Claus, which has since gone public and may potentially destroy Christmas.
It is a completely insane premise.
You’ve probably seen this or something like it before, laughed once and never thought about it again. But at least two people out there are so distraught over it, they’ve had a lawyer send an official cease and desist letter to Plaid, demanding that the material be taken down and that proof of its removal be conveyed to them.
From the letter:
“We consider the sexually charged material vulgar, defamatory, highly offensive and constituting the intentional infliction of emotional distress.”
Those sound like lawsuit words, and expensive ones.
Last we checked, you can’t seriously be accused of “defamation” if the material you print about a person — in this case, anybody whose name has been entered in a program about a sex scandal with Mrs. Claus — is too outrageous to be considered true by a reasonable individual.
And given that the “KringleGate” video featuring your name is a holiday greeting that only appears to you, to whom is your reputation actually sullied?
No word yet on what Plaid plans to do, but it seems to us that complying with the C&D will do little more than further chill an already-depressed industry.
Where do users draw the line between nay-saying an inappropriate meme — and censoring creative play?
